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National Map
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Swaziland |
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National Flag
Of |
Swaziland |
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Flag Description:
three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width),
and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the
red band is a large black and white shield covering two
spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all
placed horizontally
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National Emblem(Coat Of Arms)
Of |
Swaziland |
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National Anthem
Of |
Swaziland |
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Categories National Symbol Of |
Swaziland |
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Background:
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Autonomy
for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the
British in the late 19th century; independence was
granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the
1990s pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the
continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and
greater democracy. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana
as the country with the world's highest known rates of
HIV/AIDS infection |
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Location:
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Southern
Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
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Geographic coordinates:
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26 30 S,
31 30 E |
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Map references:
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Africa
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Area:
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total:
17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km
water: 160 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly
smaller than New Jersey |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa
430 km |
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Coastline:
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0 km
(landlocked) |
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Maritime claims:
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none
(landlocked) |
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Climate:
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varies
from tropical to near temperate |
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Terrain:
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mostly
mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
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Natural resources:
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asbestos,
coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold
and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
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Land use:
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arable
land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7%
other: 88.95% (2001) |
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Irrigated land:
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690 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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drought
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Environment - current issues:
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limited
supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being
depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil
degradation; soil erosion |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party
to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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Geography - note:
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landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
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Population:
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1,173,900
note: estimates for this country explicitly take
into account the effects of excess mortality due to
AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher
infant mortality and death rates, lower population and
growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be
expected (July 2005 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14
years: 40.6% (male 240,643/female 235,895)
15-64 years: 55.6% (male 327,661/female 325,400)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 19,273/female
25,028) (2005 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
18.72 years
male: 18.53 years
female: 18.92 years (2005 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.25%
(2005 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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27.72
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Death rate:
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25.26
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at
birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
69.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 72.51 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 65.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005
est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 33.22 years
male: 32.49 years
female: 33.98 years (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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3.7
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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38.8%
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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220,000
(2003 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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17,000
(2003 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
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Ethnic groups:
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African
97%, European 3% |
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Religions:
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Zionist
(a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral
worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican,
Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
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Languages:
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English
(official, government business conducted in English),
siSwati (official) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6%
male: 82.6%
female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
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Government type:
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monarchy;
independent member of Commonwealth |
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Capital:
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Mbabane;
note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
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Administrative divisions:
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4
districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
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Independence:
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6
September 1968 (from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
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Constitution:
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a
constitution was due to be adopted in November 2003 but
was delayed and scheduled for early 2005 |
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Legal system:
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based on
South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and
Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years
of age |
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Executive branch:
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chief
of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba
DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003)
cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime
minister and confirmed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime
minister appointed by the monarch |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral
Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of
the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of
Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve
five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats -
10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular
vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18
October 2003 (next to be held October 2008)
election results: House of Assembly - balloting
is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are
nominated by the local council of each constituency and
for each constituency the three candidates with the most
votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a
single winner by a second round |
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Judicial branch:
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High
Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are
appointed by the monarch |
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Political parties and leaders:
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political
parties are banned by the government - the following are
considered political associations; Imbokodvo National
Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Liberatory
Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's
United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU,
president] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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ACP,
AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002
FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief
of mission: Ambassador Lewis LUCKE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street,
Mbabane
mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane
telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445
FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
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Flag description:
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three
horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and
blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the
red band is a large black and white shield covering two
spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all
placed horizontally |
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Economy - overview:
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In this
small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture
occupies more than 80% of the population. The
manufacturing sector has diversified since the
mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign
exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in
recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines
remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for
a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily
dependent on South Africa from which it receives about
nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends nearly
three-quarters of its exports. Customs duties from the
Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances
from South Africa substantially supplement domestically
earned income. The government is trying to improve the
atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil
depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as
problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the
population needed emergency food aid in 2004 because of
drought, and more than one-third of the adult population
was infected by HIV/AIDS. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$6.018
billion (2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.5%
(2004 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 43.4%
services: 40.5% (2004 est.) |
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Labor force:
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383,200
(2000) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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NA |
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Unemployment rate:
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34% (2000
est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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40%
(1995) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest
10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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5.4%
(2004 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed):
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23.6% of
GDP (2004 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $494.6 million
expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital
expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus,
pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
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Industries:
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mining
(coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink
concentrates, textile and apparel |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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3.7%
(FY95/96) |
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Electricity - production:
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402
million kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil
fuel: 58%
hydro: 42%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.173
billion kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh
(2002) |
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Electricity - imports:
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799
million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa
(2002) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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3,500
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA |
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Oil - imports:
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NA |
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Current account balance:
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$-82.4
million (2004 est.) |
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Exports:
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$900.1
million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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soft
drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn,
refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
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Exports - partners:
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South
Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004)
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Imports:
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$1.14
billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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motor
vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs,
petroleum products, chemicals |
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Imports - partners:
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South
Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$320.5
million (2004 est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$320
million (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$104
million (2001) |
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Currency (code):
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lilangeni
(SZL) |
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Currency code:
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SZL |
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Exchange rates:
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emalangeni per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003),
10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 April -
31 March |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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46,200
(2003) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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88,000
(2003) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an
advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped,
open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay
international: country code - 268; satellite
earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 3, FM
2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) |
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Radios:
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170,000
(1999) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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5 plus 7
relay stations (2004) |
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Televisions:
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23,000
(2000) |
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Internet country code:
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.sz |
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Internet hosts:
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1,401
(2003) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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5 (2002)
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Internet users:
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27,000
(2003) |
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Railways:
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total:
301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
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Highways:
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total:
3,107 km
paved: NA
unpaved: NA (2000) |
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Airports:
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18 (2004
est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total:
1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total:
17
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Umbutfo
Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes
Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005)
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Military service age and obligation:
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18 years
of age for voluntary military service; both sexes are
eligible for military service (2005) |
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Manpower available for military service:
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males
age 18-49: 248,676 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower fit for military service:
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males
age 18-49: 98,530 (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$40.5
million (2004) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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1.4%
(2004) |
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Disputes - international:
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none |
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This page was last updated on
20 October, 2005 |
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